Band reaches $20M deal with construction company to torpedo controversial project

Pechanga also received praise from the man who led the fast-track charge, to the consternation of local supervisors.

“I’m very pleased,” Supervisor John Benoit said in a telephone interview. “We’ve been encouraging the parties to talk since Day 1. I’m glad they took that suggestion seriously and did that.”

Earlier this month, Benoit persuaded a board majority to approve Granite’s fast-track request, saying the project had been scrutinized enough already through 81 hours of public hearings, including 51 hours before the Planning Commission and 30 before the Board of Supervisors.

Last year and this year, boisterous hearings repeatedly drew dozens of people to several hundred. Opponents wore orange hats and T-shirts, and supporters — many of them construction workers touting jobs — wore green T-shirts.